Extreme Makeover! Bishop Inaugurates Renovated ‘Sacred Heart Ward’ at Fr Muller Hospital
Mangaluru: Father Muller Charitable Institutions have been touching the lives of thousands of people for the last 139 long years. The institution founded by Father Augustus Muller in 1880 stands out as a hallmark of medical service and education in our country. With its motto of “Heal and Comfort”, it is committed to bring healthcare solace to the suffering humanity. Our hospitals focus on installing sophisticated precision equipment, non-invasive diagnosis and surgeries and other state-of-the-art techniques with quality and ethical service. It provides super speciality treatment with state of the art facilities with experienced doctors following world-class health care practices.
The Vision of Father Muller Charitable Institution is to heal and comfort the suffering humanity with compassion and respect, and to be recognized as a global leader in medical education and research, and the Mission is-To be progressive in providing holistic health care services to all; To ensure global standards in medical education; and To create and foster centre of excellence for medical research. The hospital has given in crores towards medical expenses of the poor patients who come for care at FMCI.
The benevolent Fr Augustus Muller of happy memory had only one plan: compassionate care for the poor. This turned out to be an eternal plan. 1880 was a sunrise year for the coastal town of Mangaluru. Fr Augustus Keith Muller landed on the shores of Mangaluru with a prescription of heal and comfort, love and care for the suffering humanity. When he started dispensing medicine under a banyan tree, it was just a simple and noble thought – one human being thinking good about another. Since 1880, this very noble thought has been carried down with unwavering dedication. The mission of heal and comfort was time and again attuned to the challenges of the day, and FMCI is one of the oldest and most established teaching hospital networks in Mangaluru.
FMCI exists to serve the needs of the poor, marginalized, and otherwise disadvantaged people of Karnataka and northern Kerala and provides healthcare services to those in need regardless of religion, caste, gender or ethnicity. Over 70 percent of these services offered either free of charge or heavily subsided. FMCI also conducts “health camps” in Mangaluru’s surrounding communities who are unable to travel or cannot afford traditional clinic-based medical care. FMCI is able to: provide services to those who need it most; provide exposure and experience to medical students; and support the Catholic church’s outreach to the poor in the community.
Launched in 1979 under the leadership of Fr Peter Noronha- the then Director of FMCI, ‘Sacred Heart Ward’ during the beginning of 2019 went for a complete renovation, adding an elevator which didn’t exist earlier. Presently the Sacred Heart Ward has Private wards, Semi-Private Wards, Day Care, Oncology ward; Radiotherapy Ward, Oncology O T and Oncology Post OP. Rooms have been fully refurnished with state of the art facilities needed in the health care sector. It has also a centre of Chemotherapy for cancer patients, and experienced doctors and nurses to give the best care and treatment, to all those who come to FMCI having trust in this institution.
The inauguration of the renovated ‘Sacred Heart Ward’ was done by Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha- the Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese, along with Fr Richard Coelho-the Director of FMCI, Fr Peter Noronha- former Director of FMCI, Administrators of various departments, doctors, nurses, staff and well-wishers. Following a short prayer service conducted by the Bishop, later the Bishop and few other clergies of FMCI went around the Ward to do the blessing with Holy water. In hsi inaugural address Bishop Peter Paul said, “People come here not only for treatment, but for prayers. This Ward has been performing miracles with the healing touch of Sacred Heart of Jesus, and many patients here through prayers along with treatment have fully recovered from their illness. Love of God is for each one of us, and that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son Jesus who willingly died for the cause of sin by forgiving His perpetrators. Jesus taught us to be humble and human and the power of His love surpasses all human calculation”.
In his welcome address, Fr Richard A Coelho expressed his gratitude to everyone who were responsible in the renovation of Sacred Heart Ward, and especially the Bishop of Mangaluru for his support and encouragement, and also for gracing today’s function. Fr Rudolph Ravi D’sa -the Administrator of Father Muller Medical Hospital proposed the Vote of thanks and thanked the Bishop for his gracious presence, Fr Richard Coelho for the hard work put in this renovation of Ward, and also the administrators. He also thanked the contractors, architects, designers and workers, and special mention of appreciation was made on two persons, namely Ronald Crasta- Maintenance in-charge and Ashok Kulal- Civil services in Charge, for their dedication, commitment and hard work in the Sacred Heart Ward.
Fr Roshan Crasta- Administrator at Father Muller Homeopathic Medical College Hospital-Derlakatte; Fr Ajith Menezes-the Administrator at Father Muller Medical College-Mangaluru; Fr Sylvester Vincent Lobo-the Administrator at Father Muller Hospital Thumbay, Fr Nelson Pais- the Assistant Administrator at Father Muller Medical Hospital, Fr Peter Noronha-the former Director, FMCI, Dr J P Alva- Dean of Fr Muller Medical college; Sr Jacintha D’souza- Principal of Fr Muller College of Nursing; Sr Janet D’Souza-the Chief Nursing Officer, Fr George-the Chaplain; Dr Sanjeev Rai-the Chief of Research; were among many others present for the occasion.
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